Stevens leaves lasting health legacy
The Flathead Valley lost a dynamic advocate for quality health care with the recent death of Kalispell Regional Healthcare President Velinda Stevens. Her legacy to this community, though, will live on for generations to come.
Stevens was a passionate, tireless leader during her 18 years at the helm of Kalispell Regional, and the results of her work in expanding health care in Northwest Montana are all around us. A lot happened at Kalispell Regional and in the health-care community here during her tenure. The expansion of facilities was, well, expansive, highlighted by the completion of a $42 million surgical tower in 2013 that strengthened the hospital's ability to handle surgeries, emergencies and trauma cases. More recently the hospital completed a $14 million emergency services department expansion, and there are many more projects in the works, such as a new pediatric center and expansion of the digestive health center.
Stevens wasn't much for basking in the limelight; she preferred working behind the scenes and knew how do so effectively. Last fall Kalispell Regional Medical Center and North Valley Hospital finalized an affiliation aimed at maximizing the best of both facilities. That also happened on Stevens' watch.
We extend our most sincere condolences to the Stevens family and the entire health-care community that also was her family in many ways. If you are searching for a way to honor her life and her work, consider a donation to the newly established Velinda Stevens Endowment for Women and Children that has been set up through the Kalispell Regional Healthcare Foundation.
Worldwide march puts women front and center
The Women's March on Montana was one small component of a national and worldwide outpouring of support for women's issues and concerns in the new Age of Trump.
The Helena portion of the protest was much more sizable than similar demonstrations in recent years, and taken together with the D.C. march and others around the country, shows just how divided the country remains in the wake of November's election and what a challenge Trump faces as he pursues his stated goal of unifying the country.
The issues that most of the women and men in the march seemed most concerned with — abortion rights, gender rights, civil rights, voting rights — were all familiar Democratic campaign themes. They are being echoed by Democratic senators and representatives in Washington, but whether or not the now minority party can influence policy substantially remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, it is healthy for the republic for all citizens to have a voice — and to have that voice heard. That goal was certainly accomplished Saturday.
Mary Tyler Moore was icon for working women
We would be remiss if we did not mention the passing of Mary Tyler Moore — an actress who had a huge impact on American women and their acceptance in the workplace.
It was announced Wednesday that Moore has died at the age of 80.
The 1970s “Mary Tyler Moore Show” gave the fictional Mary Richards a job at TV station WJM in Minneapolis and a place in the hearts of millions of Americans. As the smart, sweetly sassy voice of sanity in a world full of eccentrics and buffoons, Richards became an inspiration for women entering the workplace for the first time as well as a cultural icon.
Moore's earlier work on the “Dick Van Dyke Show” immortalized the housewife of the 1950s and '60s, but it was her independent career woman of the 1970s that helped change America.